On Saturday 06 March 2004 05:42 pm, Diane Duncan wrote:
> Hi Carroll,
>
> At 12:16 PM 3/6/04 -0500, you wrote:
> >In fact, because so many users do use dual boot setups, the Linux
> >installers will handle all of the messy details for you. A bit of warning:
> >In
> >the event that you decide that linux is not your cup of tea, you will need
> >to
> >restore the master boot record to remove the loader. To do this in Win98,
> >boot to a Windows boot disk and run fdisk /mbr.
>
> I've never done that. What are the steps, please?
>
> Also, if my goal is to install Linux on its own box, do I need to do any
> partitioning?
>
> Thanks,
> Diane
Diane:
If you're referring to restoring the master boot record (MBR):
1. Put your windows boot disk in the floppy drive. If you don't have a boot
disk, you can download one from the FreePCTech web site:
http://freepctech.com/pc/002/files010.shtml
2. Verify that the boot disk includes fdisk.exe. If not, you'll need to copy
fdisk.exe from your hard drive (mine is in c:\windows\command) to the floppy.
3. Shutdown, and reboot with the boot floppy in the drive. (If it doesn't boot
to the floppy, you will have to go into the BIOS and change it so that it
boots from the floppy.) Type fdisk /mbr and hit enter. (If you changed the
boot order, reset, enter the BIOS and restore the original setting.)
4. Reset one more time, and you should go directly to Windows.
As for installing Linux in its own box all by itself: Most mainstream Linux
distributions (Mandrake, RedHat, Fedora, Suse, ...) now have installers that
make a installing Linux a relatively simple task. Just set up your computer
to boot from a CD, and then boot with the first CD in the CD-ROM drive. (If
the hard disk has an existing Windows installation on it, Linux will
recognize it and ask if it can overwrite any Windows installations that it
finds.) It will then propose a partitioning and formatting scheme; my advice
is to accept the defaults. (My memory gets a little weak about what options
are offered, but it is a good thing to have a separate /home partition in
case that option is offered.) Then it's just a matter of installing the
software, doing some hardware configuration, and you've got Linux. Depending
on your hardware, and how much time you spend selecting software, the whole
deal should take somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour.
Good luck,
Carroll Grigsby
"Hold No Punches.." Rode brings you great shareware/freeware
programs with his honest opinions in this weekly column.
http://freepctech.com/rode
|
